


Mother's Insight

by ellf



Series: Building Faith [5]
Category: The Dresden Files - All Media Types, The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Adorable, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-29 23:16:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12641307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellf/pseuds/ellf
Summary: Charity Carpenter's life has revolved around one thing: her family. Let's see some snapshots of that life as her twin daughters grow up. Part of the Building Faith SI universe.





	1. Chapter One

“Come on, do I really need to show you an ID? I swear I’m on the list.” I nodded to the clipboard that the bouncer held in his hand. I wasn’t actually supposed to be on the list, but he didn’t know that. All the bouncer, a heavyset bald Irish-looking man probably in his mid-thirties knew was that a pretty young woman was standing in a scandalously tight dress in front of him. I adjusted my dress some to guarantee my display wouldn’t go completely unnoticed.

“I’m not supposed to give anyone entry if they’re not on the list,” said the bouncer, and I barely resisted gathering my power. No, too many people were around. Messing with this guy in any way would leave me exposed in a way that would probably end badly and get back to my parents. I definitely didn’t want that to happen. If they knew where I was, they’d have words for me, and I’d probably be expected to do other things so that I wouldn’t embarrass them further.

I smiled at the bouncer, and I squeezed my arms together while bending forward. Ah, that’s what I could do. I needed to be a little subtle with how I did it. The bouncer had a pair of sunglasses clipped on his shirt; I just needed to use the reflection off of them to get the names off the list.

This time I did gather my power, focusing it on my eyes. Muttering a nonsense word under my breath, I looked at the sunglasses and smiled. “I’m definitely on the list, you don’t have to worry. My name’s Kayden Smith. Check the list. I should be below Samantha Dark.”

The bouncer’s eyes widened just a fraction as he checked the list once more, and a smile came to my face. The man nodded after a second of glancing from the list to my exposed cleavage and back again. A predatory smile came to my lips as I watched the gears turn in his little head. I hadn’t even had to do much of anything. Unfortunately, at that moment, his headset started screeching, and he quickly removed it from his ear. Feedback. Magic did that sort of thing.

“I’m sorry, Miss. It appears you are on the list after all,” The bouncer stepped aside, and I entered the club.

The club, _Devil’s Playground_ , had once been a discotheque maybe a decade ago, but as that style of music fell out of popularity, it had clearly converted. It still was a dance club, but it catered to a much different crowd now, one that I found myself liking as I hit the dance floor.

Dancing wasn’t exactly one of my specialties, but it was easy enough to move to the music, to lose myself to the rhythm as I thought over what I wanted to do next. Running away had clearly been the right decision. There was no way I’d be able to convince my parents to do anything other than ignore their little problem, and if I was gone, then they’d be able to save face among their friends. I’d played the part of their little drug addict for too long, but what I needed, what I loved was to explore what I could do. Stuff like tonight.

An attractive man moved closer to me on the dance floor, and I briefly flirted with the idea of leaving him in the lurch. Something about him convinced me though. His stature, his confidence, maybe, they could be felt through that dark silk shirt and khakis he wore. He offered a brief smile to me as he approached, and I found myself returning his smile. Briefly, he and I locked eyes, but he looked away quicker than I could. His eyes had been a deep blue, which went well with his sandy blond hair that he kept cut short.

“I saw how you handled the bouncer,” he said when he finally got close. “Well done, Miss Smith. Not many can get one over on him.”

“It wasn’t much, and I was on the list,” I said, giving a little bit of false modesty.

“No, you weren’t,” he said.

“No, I wasn’t,” I found myself agreeing. “But how do you know that?”

“Because I watched you, Miss Smith,” he said. “I know what you did. I know because I understand.”

He held out his hand, and I lightly placed mine in his own. A jolt of _something_ passed between us. It wasn’t quite a static shock, but it wasn’t the normal feeling that I’d get for shaking someone else’s hand. It was familiar, almost, but I knew I hadn’t felt anything quite like it before.

“You have some power,” he said, looking intently at my face, still avoiding my eyes. The man in front of me seemed to be very important now. While I had entertained the thought of going home with someone that night, this man trumped all of that. “And some talent.”

“Yes,” I said because what else could I say? Should I have denied it? I had talent. I had power. It might not have been as much as it could be, but it would work. It _had_ worked this evening.

The man leaned forward, and he whispered in my ear. “I would very much like to teach you to use it effectively.”

I swallowed and nodded. He had me from the moment he said teach. That was how I met Gregor.

My time with Gregor from that night, onward is practically a blur. The man took me in, fed me, clothed me, and he kept me with other members of the coven. Together, we worked great feats of magic, mostly to feel the rush and the high we got from casting it. He’d lecture us sometimes. Religion, mysticism. We were becoming part of a greater power by working together. Oh, those days were wonderful. Gregor led us, and we were going to be doing more.

Then, came the summoning spell. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what Gregor really wanted to do there. I think there was something about summoning the gods we made offerings too, but somehow _they_ caught wind of it.

November, that year, they approached our commune. The men in the gray cloaks approached us, and they intended on rooting out what they deemed as wrong. They’d said that they were from the White Council of Wizards, and that they were here to assess us on use of black magic. Magic was so wonderful, how could any of it be wrong?

“Miss… Smith, was it? Miss Kayden Smith?” I still used that name, rather than use my real one. As far as it mattered, I was Kayden Smith. They had asked to speak with me alone, without Gregor or any of the rest of the coven present. Gregor acquiesced, letting them speak to each of us, and now it was my turn.

“Yes,” I said. “How can I help you…”

“Warden Banks,” said the man in the gray cloak. His dark hair was pulled back, and his face held classically Italian features. Under his cloak, the man wore street clothing, a pair of jeans and a long sleeved polo shirt. At his waist, however, was the thing that marked him as a Warden: his silver sword. The man would not be afraid to use it if he needed to.

“Warden Banks. What is it you need to ask?” Gregor had spoken with each of us. The White Council wanted to bring us down, tear up our group. We needed to cooperate because they still had the power, but we needed to not give in to them.

“Well, Miss Smith, we’re actually here to investigate any sources of black magic, as you may have heard. The summoning that your group leader did brushed up against the Laws.”

“Laws?” I asked, and he told me.

The Laws of Magic were something that the White Council apparently took very seriously. Mess up once, break one of their laws and you were summarily executed. I wasn’t entirely certain how the summoning Gregor did brushed against the Laws of Magic, but the Warden assured me it did.

“So you see, Miss Smith, this is a very serious situation. Black magic can be corrupting and harmful. We _will_ execute anyone performing it.” I practically could see the fire in his eyes, and I flinched away from it. He wasn’t talking about me. I had to reassure myself. He wasn’t talking about me. I didn’t do anything wrong. Gregor didn’t do anything wrong. I needed to calm myself.

I breathed in and out. “No, I’ve not seen anything like that here. The magic we perform is harmless to others. We’re just trying to explore things.”

“Exploration can be dangerous, Miss Smith.” His voice almost sounded like a mountain lion on the prowl.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I said, glancing up to him for a second before looking away. The Warden let out a harrumph and turned away.

“We’ll be watching,” Warden Banks said, leaving me to my thoughts.

Eventually, the Wardens left. They hadn’t been able to find anything to indicate black magic use, and I was pretty sure that they wouldn’t. Still, the look on Gregor’s face, when they left… I wouldn’t soon forget it. He resented them. Resented their presence. Resented their laws. So, he began doing research, gathering us to do spells that skirted the edges of morality. A slight emotional influence here, an opening there. He communed with spirits, Fae, and other things that should have made our toes curl, and our spirits fear. But Gregor was our leader, our confidant. He led all of us into it, and we would waltz into Hell on his say-so.

Then Jason disappeared, then Lisa, then Brian, and then Doris. One by one, the others began to disappear. I asked around, but nobody could say where they went. We considered that they might have gone back to their families, but why wouldn’t they tell us? Why couldn’t they tell us?

Gregor told us not to worry, that they would be fine. I had wanted to trust him. I really did, but Gregor had been different lately. His abilities grew. He was doing more magic, _using_ more magic to skirt the Laws. Gone was the Gregor that was our rock, our support. He had changed, and for some reason I was the only one to see it. Something in him had changed the day the White Council got involved, but that didn’t explain the power.

Wait. It couldn’t be… could it?

That morning, I looked over at Gregor, a pit forming in my stomach. He’d grown in power as members of our coven, members of his flock, began to disappear. What if… What if he had been the reason? What if Gregor had been taking us, _trading us_ for his own abilities? For his own power? God, the more I thought about that, the more it rung true. Gregor had been so resentful of the Council, he wanted the power to challenge it. He wanted it so he was giving up _us_.

Gregor smiled. I was right, and he knew that I knew I was right. Gregor _was_ trading us for something… to something. This knowledge meant something. He was going to… He was going to trade me. How could he? After all we’d done together. After everything we’d been through. He was trading us, trading me…

I moved out of there, and I headed to my room to prepare. I knew I couldn’t run. Gregor would find me. He found me before. What I could do was get ready for what was coming. Gregor wasn’t stupid, but neither was I. I wouldn’t be meek prey that would roll over and die for him. I picked up a fireplace poker, and I waited. I’d attack the moment that he opened the door.

The doorknob jiggled slightly before turning, and I adjusted my grip on the poker. One good swing is all I needed. One good swing and I’d be able to get out of here. The door opened, revealing Gregor, and I charged bringing all of my power to the forefront to help me, and he smirked. The traitorous bastard smirked.

“ _Charity_.” A chill went down my spine as he said my name, but I didn’t let that arrest my movement. Gregor needed to be out of the way, taken out so I could call the Wardens on him. “ **Stop**.”

I halted mid-swing. It really seemed like the right thing to do, even if I knew Gregor needed to be taken out. Swinging the fireplace poker just wasn’t quite what needed to do in order to have it happen. I needed a gun or something, but I couldn’t really bring myself to move.

“Gregor…” I growled. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because it needs to be done, my dear Charity,” Gregor said. “You simply don’t have enough power on your own for it to matter, and I can tell that you’re not willing to just give in to this.”

“You’re trading people to something. You’re insane.” I couldn’t quite bring myself to yell this. I knew I should. I should have yelled at the top of my lungs, warning everyone of what Gregor was planning. “Did we mean so little to you?”

“Of course not!” Gregor said. “But this is the only way. None of us is powerful enough on our own to take on the White Council and win. But together, together we can do anything. You just need to be able to add your power to my own. With me directing it, even with your meager addition, we can become strong.”

“Where did you take them? What did you do to them?” Oh, now my voice decided to become hysterical. My heart had to have been beating a thousand times per minute.

“You’ll find out, _Charity_. Now _Sleep_.” I fell forward, unconscious.

When I came to, I was on a stone platform, and I couldn’t tell where I was. Next to me was an iron post, stuck in the middle of the platform, and running off of it were a set of chains, each with cuffs that clipped to my arms and legs. The sun had nearly set, and I could hear Gregor’s chanting. I let my eyes wander, and… I was in the middle of some sort of circle. I couldn’t tell what. Was this where Gregor had taken the others? Was this where he’d murdered them? Traded them? I couldn’t tell what he was going to do… My head hurt.

“SIRIOTHRAX! I BRING YOU ANOTHER OFFERING! ANOTHER MORSEL FOR YOU TO DEVOUR!” Gregor’s chanting had turned to yelling, and a chill went down my spine, increasing the base terror I felt at the situation. This man had chained me to a post to sacrifice me to what? To a monster named Siriothrax? What was Sirio—Oh. Oh, goodness.

That was… That was a dragon. Siriothrax was a dragon. Dark scales, long neck, massive body and teeth, webbed wings and everything. Siriothrax was a dragon, and my terror increased. Lord, God, what am I supposed to do against a dragon? My magic wasn’t strong enough to let me resist _Gregor_ , what was I supposed to do against a full-blown dragon like this one?

“So, this is the one for this week, Gregor?” The dragon asked. The dragon could _speak_ , but I wasn’t entirely sure that I was hearing it with my ears alone. Whatever it was doing, I _felt_ it in my bones and my mind. This dragon was more than a mere thing. It was too strong. Lightning struck behind the terrible lizard. Oh, Lord, I didn’t want to die. Not to this. Definitely not to this.

I couldn’t hear Gregor’s reply to the dragon, to Siriothrax, but I knew it was about me. Siriothrax snorted, and turned his attention toward me, stepping across the stone platform to do so.

“Please step away from the young woman, dragon,” said a man’s voice from the other side of him.

“And if I do not, Sir Knight, what is it you plan?” The dragon turned toward the source, but I could not see it from where I was chained.

“I do not wish to fight you, but I will if it is necessary to save that woman,” said the man, the Knight?

A chortling sound came from the dragon. “I will indulge you, then, Sir Knight. Until you figure out just how outmatched you are. I am **Siriothrax**. I am the Dragon of the Sky.”

“I am Michael, wielder of _Amoracchius_ , and I will not let you have that woman.” The man, _Michael_ , stepped forward, and I could finally see him. He wore the tabard of the Knights Templar, but he didn’t have any armor on him. He had dark hair, a dark beard, and he had the most rugged features for his face. In his hands, he held a European broadsword, glowing with some sort of magical energy.

I couldn’t focus on what had happened in the fight itself. Siriothrax, the dragon, versus Michael, the Knight, with me playing the part of the Damsel was not something I could keep my focus on. No, instead, my focus lay with the Knight himself, watching as he moved, wincing at every time the dragon managed to land a blow. I didn’t know who he was or why he was doing this, but he was doing it for me. He was fighting a dragon for _me_. He didn’t know who I was either, but I could tell he had a good heart. Nobody could fight that well for a stranger without one. I swore to myself, that if he managed to succeed, if he managed to win, I would give it up. I needed to give up my power, my magic. It got me into this situation, and if I hadn’t had it, Gregor would never have been able to use me. To try and use me. If I made it through this, I needed to give it up.

I wish I could describe the feeling that came over me when I saw Michael succeed. He severed the dragon’s head from its body, and he stabbed the torso for good measure. The dragon slumped over, leaning forward and laying there unmoving. Michael calmly started walking over to me.

“Nooo! How could this? You! You! I worked so hard, and I was going to do so many great things! And this is your fault and I was going to be! AAAGH!” Gregor ran over to me, ranting and raving about his plans, but with each passing breath, I knew what I wanted to do to him, what I needed to do to him. He sounded mad, but he needed to be gotten rid of. He wanted my power? I could give it to him. Shove it right up in him, and show him just what he wanted. I could do it too. With what Gregor had been having us do lately, all it would take is the gathering of a bit of will and the release of all of the terror and hatred I had for the man.

My chains made a clinking sound as hey separated due to Michael’s sword strike. He lightly shoved Gregor away from me, sending the man stumbling, and I got a sick sense of perverse glee from watching that.

“Miss,” Michael said, offering his hand to me with a smile. Oh that smile. It radiated like all the light in the world was shining right on me. God, what was I thinking? How could I even think of breaking that promise already? If he knew… If Michael knew, what would he think of me? Would he regret saving me? Killing the dragon? Would he never smile at me again? “What’s your name?”

“Charity,” I answered, giving my real name to him. He deserved it for saving me. I took his hand, and he helped me to my feet.

“Charity,” Michael said with a smile. “Why don’t we get out of here, Charity?”

“Okay… I’d like that…” I followed him out, away from Gregor’s mad rantings, and I didn’t look back. Michael was special. I could see that clearly.

It did my heart a lot of good to be near the man. I left with him, determined to set out on my new life.

  



	2. Chapter Two

That morning I woke to the increasingly familiar feeling of tiny hands poking and prodding at my body. Two pairs of identically tiny hands lightly touched, poked and prodded at my arms, shoulders, and my stomach. I intentionally kept my eyes closed as I felt them poke and prod; I wasn’t quite ready to give them the satisfaction of waking me up on their own. I took a bit of mental stock. Judging from the body warmth and locations of their hands, they had climbed into the bed with me. Their father, my husband, once again served the duty of a Knight, going off where the Lord led him, leaving me with our daughters and son. As said daughters continued to prod at my sides, I let out a small moan and opened my eyes, smiling as I heard the twin giggles of delight coming from my girls.

Then, one by one, I saw two identical tow-headed faces peeking into my view. My two girls, Molly and Faith, smiled widely, their blue eyes twinkling with mirth. That… actually made me sit up. While them being in a good mood wasn’t exactly a _bad_ thing, it was something I needed to pay attention to. The girls were very intelligent for their age, and there was the chance that they did something they weren’t supposed to. Of course, given that they were… Oh. Right. Now they were three. Three years old _today_ , to be precise.

“Mama!” they said together, and they giggled. My eyes flicked to their clothing, and I nodded. Faith had the powder blue pajamas on while her sister, Molly, had the light green. Neither seemed to have any preference for pink, which Michael and I learned quickly. They wrapped their arms around me, and I did the same, bringing them into a hug.

“Good morning, you two.” I released the hug and stood up. I needed to go check on Daniel as well. My children were probably hungry. “So, do you two know what day it is?”

Molly shook her head. “No, Mama. Is it Tuesday?”

Faith snorted. “Monday. Church was yesterday. Right, Mama?”

“Well, yes, it’s Monday,” I said, leading the way toward where Daniel’s room was. “But that’s not what I was talking about, girls. What makes today _special_?”

“Umm….” Molly scratched her head, and then Faith nudged her with her hip. Something wordless seemed to pass between my daughters as we entered Daniel’s room. I assumed this probably had something to do with them being twins, but I couldn’t be too sure. A look of understanding came to both of their faces, followed by another smile.

“It’s our birthday!” they exclaimed together, in unison. They linked arms, and they giggled, which seemed to wake Daniel up as well. My eighteen-month old dark-haired son stood up in his crib and joined in on the giggling. “Danny! We’re three now.”

“Free?” My son looked confused, and I reached in to pick him up.

“Three, Daniel.” I ran a hand through his hair and clutched him against my body. “Let’s go make you three some breakfast. It’s a big day, after all.”

“Party?” Faith asked. “Mama, are we going to have a party?”

“And cake?” Molly asked. “And is Daddy going to be there?”

“Party, yes. We sent out invitations two weeks ago,” I said, leading my girls downstairs. “Cake too, but I’m not sure about your father. We’ll just have to have faith that he’ll get here in time.”

Daniel started squirming in my arms as his sisters started to giggle.

“Here I am! We have me!” Faith pointed at herself. “So Daddy will be here for the party. Because we have me, right?”

I smiled and adjusted their brother in my arms. “Not exactly the type of faith I was talking about, Sweetie. Let’s get you three some breakfast while I explain.”

Listening to me, my girls got into their seats at the table, using the booster seats I had set out for them to be able to reach it. I placed Daniel in the high chair, and I started making their breakfast. While I cooked, I gave them a small theology lesson about what I meant with faith, something I learned primarily from their father. Daniel seemed to focus on the lesson, but obviously he wouldn’t be able to take it in at his age. However, my twin girls definitely were paying attention, and I know I saw a look of contemplation on Faith’s face. I said it before. They’re smart.

I set a peeled half of banana next to Daniel, and I turned to finish up cooking at the stove when Faith spoke up. “Mama, are we going to have another brother?”

“Now why do you think that?” I plated our breakfasts and brought theirs to them while I left mine on the counter so I could feed Daniel.

Faith shrugged, and Molly spoke up. “She wants another baby to play with. I think Danny’s enough though. He gets smelly.”

“Nuh-uh, Moll, Danny needs a brother too. Maybe two.” Faith smiled at me, nudging her sister once. “And we want more sisters, right?”

“Ugh, but you’re enough!” Molly said, grabbing Faith. I had to hide my smile as I fed their brother, but I think they knew.

The rest of the morning passed relatively uneventfully as I finished the remaining party preparations. My little girls had turned three years old that day, and I wanted to make sure that the party that they were going to have would be great with or without their father present. I knew Michael wanted to be there, but I also knew that whatever he was doing currently was important.

The party’s theme was inspired by the Little Mermaid, which had come out two years prior. The cake I’d made was a picturesque shape and icing of Castle Atlantica, and there were toys that I’d stuck in to represent the various characters along with candied shells to represent Triton’s daughters singing. While I knew my daughters probably were too young to appreciate the work done now, I knew their memory of the event would be great.

The first of the guests started to arrive a little after lunch time. Janice Saratoga arrived with her five-year-old daughter, Cecelia, who quickly made her way over to meet up with Molly and Faith. Cecelia had the deepest red hair that I’d ever seen on a little girl, matching her mother’s lighter, rust-colored locks. Janice grabbed some soda and came in. Not long after Janice and Cecelia showed up, more fellow parishioners and their children showed up to the party. Soon enough, Faith and Molly were playing around with a total of about ten children, and a total of seven parents accompanied them.

We stood around watching our kids as they enjoyed the party. They played games like Pin the Tail On the Eel, and a game of tag in the yard which switched to Hide and Seek after a bit. We had this huge oak tree in our yard that the kids loved to play around and hide behind. The tree was the kind of tree that would be a lovely one for a treehouse one day, and I noted that I should speak to my husband about it.

We actually were going to use one of the hanging branches for a final game before the cake. The piñata that I’d obtained was in the shape of the villain from Disney’s Little Mermaid, Ursula. The children all lined up to get a blindfolded swing at the sea witch, and I couldn’t help but smile at how considerate my daughters were to let others go before them, despite them being the birthday girls. I watched them waiting patiently in line as Andrew Warren’s father, Marcus, manned the rope, adjusting the piñata for the kids.

Faith and Molly watched, each time the children ahead of them swung, they seemed to take note of how the kids missed. Marcus was fair; he didn’t pull the rope so that the Ursula piñata was out of the children’s range or anything, but my daughters seemed to be paying attention to how things moved and where things were. Or maybe I was ascribing more to them than I should be given that this was their third birthday. Still, it was interesting to watch them and their determined faces. Finally, they’d reached the front of the line, and Faith was the first at bat.

I tied the blindfold around her eyes and helped her spin around four times. I guided her in the general direction of the piñata, and I stepped back.

“Go ahead, Faith… Swing when ready.”

Faith stood still for a second, and she lightly moved the stick forward and back. She hadn’t actually swung yet, as we watched.

“Jesus, that’s creepy,” another mother said, and I frowned. Her name was… What was it? Dana. Dark-haired woman, fair-skinned and skinnier than me. I guess she was pretty, but it really seemed mostly superficial to me, just like her tacky polka dot dress. I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions here. She might have just misspoken.

“What is?” I said, trying not to let any anger color my voice. She wasn’t calling my daughter creepy. I was sure of that. At least she better not have been. No, I was going to hear her out.

“Look at both of them.” Dana gestured at Molly, and Faith, who seemed to be moving in synchronization, while Molly looked at the piñata. I noted that Faith’s head turned in the same way. Adorable. Probably a twin thing, but it was in no way creepy. “That isn’t natural.”

It had to be natural. I swear I’d seen it in other twins before.

“Those are my daughters, Dana.” I forced a smile onto my face. She clearly didn’t know any better. “The birthday girls.”

Cheering erupted from the children as the piñata broke open, distracting me from Dana. The smile on my face became a lot more genuine as I moved over to help Faith remove the blindfold.

“I did it!” Faith looked to me and then back to her sister. “We did it! The candy’s ours!”

“Yes, you did, sweetie. Don’t forget to share.”

“Uh huh. If I don’t share, I’ll end up big and heavy and unemployed for some time and then—” Molly cut Faith off by placing a hand over her mouth.

“Mama, thank you for the candy…” Molly said, and then she turned toward everyone else. “Candy for everyone!”

A chorus of cheering children echoed out before they attacked the candy like ravenous beasts. I started toward Dana again, still smiling.

“Charity, I—”

“Dana,” I said, cutting her off. “Please refrain from commenting about my daughters again. They’re twins. Occasionally twins will do things simultaneously. This isn’t fully understood, and I look forward to learning more about it as they grow.”

“But—”

“I appreciate you bringing Sarah to the party, and I know my girls do as well. They really enjoy their time with their friends.” I stepped closer to her, and I lowered my voice. I restrained myself from gathering any of my will. My talent had withered away completely anyway, but I still felt tempted even now. “Be glad they didn’t hear you. If they had, friend of theirs or not, you and your daughter would be leaving before cake. I would prefer if you left right afterward.”

“Okay.” Dana had the grace to look abashed.

“Good,” I said, a smile forming on my face. Then I heard the familiar sound of a pickup truck approaching and parking in the driveway, even over the noise the kids made as they picked up candy. My heart did a little flutter as I stepped away from Dana, toward the gate. A short while after I heard the truck’s door open and shut, I could see dark hair approaching around the bend, hauling a bag with clearly wrapped boxes inside.

“Daddy’s here!” Molly cried, quickly joined by Faith. “Come on, Danny, Daddy’s here!”

Faith and Molly helped Daniel to his feet and they walked with him toward the gate just as Michael got to it. Michael came into the yard, placed the bag down against the fence and he quickly wrapped an arm around me, kissing me soundly. After pulling away, he turned toward our children, and he knelt down, wrapping all three of them into a hug.

“Happy birthday girls,” Michael said. “And hello Daniel.”

“Da!” Daniel laughed out, and we all joined him.

“So, this is the party then? Tell me, did I miss the cake?”

“Not yet,” Faith said. “We had to beat the Sea Witch first! I cut her tentacles off with my sword of Faith and Molly!”

“You did?” Michael looked at the twins. “Such a mighty feat, my princesses. This calls for celebration.”

Yes, my husband was home. My disagreement with Dana seemed much less important now. Of course, it would by no means be forgotten.

My children’s safety comes first. Even if they don’t know what I’m keeping them safe from.

  



	3. Chapter Three

Public school had not been Michael’s or my first choice to send our children to, but Faith and Molly were on the waiting list to get into St. Mary’s Catholic School. As such, we had to go through the little hoops that the Chicago Public School system had laid out for my daughters. Today was no exception. Faith’s First Grade teacher had called a parent-teacher conference to discuss Faith’s performance in the classroom. Michael had volunteered to watch Daniel and Matthew, and the twins were talking animatedly with their friends outside, still within view of the classroom entrance. My daughters were put into separate classes for reasons that I still didn’t fully understand, but I assumed had something to do with teachers being unable to tell them apart, even with the clothing differential.

Faith’s teacher, Ms. Annalise Conway, was a middle-aged brunette whose face seemed permanently set with her lips puckered like she’d sucked on a lemon. Her beady brown eyes were tucked behind thick coke-bottle glasses that perched on her hooked nose. Today she wore a floral-print dress with long sleeves overtop of some sort of stockings for the weather. When I entered the classroom, she gestured for me to take the seat opposite her desk, and I did so without comment.

I gave a quick look back to verify my daughters were still visible outside the classroom, and they were, still talking to one of their classmates. Faith held a small novel in her right hand, but I couldn’t see what it was from this angle. Judging from the color of the cover, it might have been one of five that she checked out from the library earlier this week. Molly’s books were a little thinner, but both were reading at far above their level which made me very proud of them.

“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Carpenter.” Ms. Conway’s voice was almost sickeningly sweet. She had one of those high, breathy voices that you always hear coming from models on catwalks and that sort of thing, and it was a little disconcerting hearing it come out of her mouth. Her voice just didn’t belong with her body type. The mismatch almost floored me.

“You asked to meet with me, Ms. Conway,” I said, glancing back toward the woman, away from my daughters. They’d be fine out there. I just needed to keep an eye and ear out, just in case. “What did you need?”

“Your daughter, Faith,” Ms. Conway said, looking into my eyes. “She’s a troublemaker.”

That… couldn’t be right. I taught my daughter to be respectful of her elders. Just because the teacher seemed a little off was no reason for her to be a troublemaker. I glanced over to my daughters. I had no clue what they were giggling about, but they clearly found something funny enough there.

“A troublemaker,” I said, turning my head back toward the teacher and trying to keep the disbelief from entering my voice too much. “How so?”

“Your daughter is pretending to read during my teaching time.” Ms. Conway tapped the desk, and if I could raise a single eyebrow, I would. That didn’t sound like Faith. She never pretended to read anything. Molly might have once in a while, but her reading skills were quickly catching up to her twin’s, even if she didn’t have the same speed.

“Pretending. Why do you say she’s pretending to read?” I asked. Sure, Faith shouldn’t have been reading when Ms. Conway was actually teaching, but _pretending_? My daughter was better than that.

“The books she brings out, they’re far too advanced for someone of her age. She’s making trouble by pretending to read them. Being disruptive.” Faith’s teacher crossed her arms, and the scowl on her face grew.

“Too advanced, you say?” I crossed my own arms. “Just what sorts of books are _too advanced_ for my daughter?”

“Today I saw her pretend-reading _The Two Towers_ by J. R. R. Tolkien. During the math practice that we had going on. And then there’s this...” Ms. Conway pulled out a drawer and then retrieved another book from it. The book was a hardcover fantasy novel nearly the size of the Bible itself. On the cover clearly was a Chicago Library identifying sticker, and the cover depicted a man in armor on a horse with a full moon in the background. Despite myself, I felt a small prideful smile come to my face. While I didn’t exactly approve of my daughters being into fantasy, there was something special about the way each of them handled the Good versus Evil battle that goes on every day. Plus, seeing Faith hold a book that size in her hands always made me smile in general. “She was reading this during Reading practice yesterday rather than doing the actual practice itself. When I confiscated this clearly advanced book, she sat at the desk not doing anything at all.”

“Was her work complete in both instances?” I asked, suspecting I already knew the answer. Faith wouldn’t have broken out the books if she wasn’t already done and bored. My daughter had better sense than that.

“That’s not the point,” Ms. Conway said. “The point is she’s disrupting class by pretending to read things that are far beyond her level. She’s only six, for God’s sake.”

“I’ll thank you not to take the Lord’s name in vain around me,” I said, keeping my voice calm and low. “I know what my daughter reads, Ms. Conway, and I know how fast she does. Was her work done when you confiscated her book? Yes, or no?”

“Yes, but—”

“And was it correct? Did she make mistakes that someone rushing through the work would make? Did she leave anything blank?” I asked. I hadn’t tested Faith’s reading speed yet, but Michael and I had to be careful when we took the girls to a book store. Quite often, Faith would end up reading through more than half the book, and if we bought the book, she’d end up finishing the book before we got home. It had happened a few times before, and each time, she and Molly cracked up about it.

“Yes, but that’s not the point…”

“How is reading when you’ve finished your work disruptive, Ms. Conway?” I was not going to yell at the woman. She wasn’t worth it. Even if she was maligning Faith, it wasn’t exactly something I could do a lot about at this point.

“Because she _wasn’t_ reading! She was pretending to read and it was disruptive. Seeing her pull out the large books and pretend to read. She wasn’t even moving her lips to try and sound out the words. She was just looking at the pages and then flipping them.”

I grit my teeth. The woman was _infuriating_ in her assumptions, and I needed to stay calm so that I wouldn’t just yell at her. “She wasn’t talking to any other students, was she? Or perhaps she was making some sort of noise to attract attention to herself?”

“She was pretending to read something that is clearly way too advanced for her,” Ms. Conway said, and I suppressed the urge to visit violence upon her clearly deranged self. “It is my goal to make sure that the students are reading what they should be able to handle and not something far beyond their level. It’s distracting to others and demeaning to the other students to see her pretend to read that.”

“So, my daughter, who had completed her work, pulls out a book and reads,” I said holding up my hand to cut off Ms. Conway’s impending interruption. “She _reads_ , not talking to anyone, not making any noises to draw attention to herself. She just sits there reading with her book, and then, what? You come over and make a big deal about her reading?”

“She is obviously faking when she does it.” Was this teacher a broken record? Was she so inept that she wasn’t even able to fathom a child being able to read above her grade level?

“And you confirmed this, how?” I asked, raising my eyebrow. “By taking the book away? Did you ask her about the book she’s reading? Quiz her on it?”

“No, but she’s faking. She would fail anyway, and it would be disruptive.”

“More disruptive than calling her out for ‘faking’ reading a book in class?” I asked. “Oh wait, that’s what you’d be doing anyway. Because you don’t believe she can. Oh, I know.”

I turned my head toward the entrance. “Faith, Molly, could the two of you please come inside?”

“Coming, Mama,” my twins said in unison. While I’d sent the two of them to school with different hairstyles, they’d both let their hair down, and it was really obvious that they were identical when they entered. However, Faith and Molly were still wearing different colored outfits, and even without that, I could tell who they were. I wasn’t sure that Ms. Conway was that observant. When the two made it into the classroom, Faith’s eyes went to the book on her teacher’s desk, and she frowned. Molly placed a hand in her sister’s and gave a squeeze, causing her frown to quirk upward a little. I wished I had a camera for that moment.

“What’s going on, Mama?” Faith asked, looking at the book again and then to her teacher. The teacher was looking at the book in Faith’s hands, and her face seemed to get a little more strained and taut. “I was just reading in class, Mama.”

“You were faking your reading, Faith,” Ms. Conway said. “The books were too advanced for you. _That book_ is too advanced for you.”

Faith looked to the book in her hands, and I clearly saw the title: _The Light Fantastic_ , by Terry Pratchett. “This is too advanced? I mean, octarine’s not a real color or anything, and the luggage eats everything, but it’s funny.”

“That’s not the—Quit making things up. You’re not really reading that.” Ms. Conway sounded peeved.

“And Rincewind is always getting in trouble and—” Faith stopped talking when I placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly.

“Have you read _The Light Fantastic_ , Ms. Conway?” I asked, looking at the book my daughter held. “Or _The Two Towers_ , or _Eye of the World_?”

“No, but she’s obviously faking. Lying to—”

“Faith. Open your book. Read a few paragraphs, and then explain in your own words what’s happening,” I said, cutting off the teacher in front of me. Whether she believed or not didn’t matter, but I was tired of her accusing my daughter of lying and faking.

Faith nodded and opened her book. I noted that she seemed to open to the first page. She read through the opening, speaking about the rising of the sun, and when she got to the point about four giant elephants and a giant turtle, I couldn’t help but picture the mental image. I hadn’t really read the books myself, but I’d heard good things about Pratchett. It seemed they were appropriate, after all, even if he did talk about magic. Honestly, the contents of what she read didn’t matter so much as the fact that she was reading it out loud in front of her teacher, and Ms. Conway’s face seemed to get more and more pulled in on itself as Faith read.

“Okay, that’s enough reading. So, what’s going on there, Faith?” I asked.

“Well, it goes into a lot about the giant turtle and where he’s going, but he knows where he’s going. You don’t find out where he’s going until later in the book, but it’s still a fun thing to read. From there, the story follows Rincewind and Twoflower, a one spell wizard and the Disc’s only tourist. And it’s really funny and they do a lot of silly things. I want to read the next one in the series. I finished this one today.” Faith closed her book, and then she looked to the desk. “We need to return that book to the library too. Ms. Conway, can we please have it back?”

“Yes, I suppose…” Ms. Conway didn’t look all too shaken, just annoyed. Maybe she was annoyed that I caught her in a lie to try and make my child look bad.

I took the book off her desk and stood up. “Ms. Conway, I will be speaking with the Principal about this meeting. I think we’re done here. Come on, girls.”

The three of us turned and walked out of the classroom, ignoring anything more from the teacher in question. I mentioned to my daughters that we were going shopping before we went home, and they cheered.

I was going to take my daughters out of this school as soon as I could. They needed teachers that actually cared about their needs as students. I didn’t think that they’d get that here, not anymore anyway.

“Oh, Mama, Teddy told me today about a new game that his older brother was trying that sounded really fun. It’s a card game that’s all about good fighting evil and maybe winning.” Faith swung her hand around, dragging my own hand with her. “We want to get it and play with each other.”

“Uh huh,” Molly said. “It sounds really fun! And it has a lot of strategy to it. It could be very fun.”

“Oh? What’s this game’s name?” I asked.

“Magic: The Gathering,” my daughters said. Oh, well, that was a thing. While I doubted that it had anything to do with real magic, it was still an unfortunate name. Still, after deciding on the upcoming upheaval, I couldn’t just tell them no to the game without looking into it first.

“We’ll see, girls. I’m not going to promise anything yet.” I smiled at my twins. Honestly, I couldn’t really see the harm in them playing a card game. Maybe I’d get it for them as a gift for when they got to their new school. It couldn’t really be all that bad. They’d be fine playing it in their new school, assuming that they got in soon.

After all, the card game was just a fad that they’d eventually get over, right?

  


  



	4. Chapter Four

“He shouldn’t be here, Michael. What are we going to tell the children?” My husband’s big heart will get him killed one day, but to think that he’d bring someone here, a _White Council Wizard_ here, scared me. My talent had long wasted away, but seeing just who Michael had planned on working with for the next while gave me significant pause.

“Charity, he and I have looked upon each other, and he is a trustworthy man,” Michael said, wrapping his strong arms around me in a hug. Oh good, the wizard was trustworthy. That meant that he would at least attempt to do what was right, but he still was a wizard, reminding me of worse times, of times before I had this. “He has stood against much evil, and I think that he was sent for me to help in his hour of need. The twins are old enough to know some of how the world really works.”

“Michael, they’re _eight_.” I didn’t want to tell him that I suspected our little girls already had ideas about what might be happening. Faith had nightmares that still woke her up at night, and she never wanted to talk about them. What little I’d managed to coax out of her were related to something chasing her, always following behind, like a shadow, but monstrous. She spoke with Molly about it sometimes, when she thought I couldn’t hear her, and she had mentioned her father fighting it with a sword. “If they find out, Daniel and Matthew will quickly find out; Alicia won’t, but that’s because she’s too young to remember right now.”

“Charity, I need to help him.” Michael looked me in the eye, offering a smile, and, as usual, my heart warmed in my chest. I never really could deny my husband anything if he wanted it. Well, some things I could, but never anything when it was the right thing to do. Michael genuinely believed that helping this wizard would be beneficial, and given who he was, I had to defer to his judgement. “I have been set upon this path for a reason.”

“And you need to follow that path,” I said, nodding. “Michael, I just don’t want you to get hurt. Our children need their father. All of them.”

Michael placed a hand on my distended stomach, and he smiled. “Yes, I know. We’ll be back in time for the new birthday. I have faith in that.”

“You had better be, Michael Carpenter. She’s not going to come into this world without her Daddy here to greet her,” I said, placing my hand over Michael’s. I still had a few weeks before I was due, and I knew that Michael would make his best effort to return before then. In the meantime, before Michael left, I needed to play the good hostess. Even if I didn’t personally like the idea of my husband going out to fight evil with _that man_ , I could be polite and courteous to him. I gave out a small sigh and a wry smile to my husband. “All right. Let’s go meet your wizard.”

“I’ll go get him.” Michael extricated his hand from my own and walked out of the house. I made my way to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. I turned on the stove so that I could boil some water for tea, and then I sat at the table, waiting.

I didn’t have to wait long. Michael came into the kitchen not long after I sat down, followed by a man that I could only assume was the wizard in question, Harry Dresden.

My first impression of the wizard had much to do with his height. Now, I am by no means a small woman. I’m nearly six feet tall, and while my husband is taller than I am, if only just, I tend to tower over a number of men. Harry Dresden made me feel like a dwarf with the height differential. The man clearly should have made a career out of basketball rather than doing his magic, but that was neither here nor there. His hair was an unkempt, shaggy mess that was a color that could almost resemble black if I were to try and focus on accuracy. He was young too, compared to the Wardens that I met during my own foray into magic. I’d put his age at somewhere in his early twenties, definitely not much older than that. Which would easily explain his choices in fashion. The man wore a pair of jeans, a tee shirt with the Star Wars logo on it, and overtop of that he had a dark canvas duster that went down to his legs. I noted a silver ring on his hand along with a charm bracelet on his left wrist, likely some sort of implements that he used to focus his spells around. He didn’t have a staff in hand, nor did I expect him to, given that he was a guest in our home.

“Harry, this is my wife, Charity,” Michael said, gesturing to me once they both were fully in the kitchen. “Charity, this is Harry Dresden.”

“Ah yes, the _wizard_.” I tried to keep my disdain for his occupation out of my voice, but I didn’t think I succeeded all that well. I couldn’t really fault the man himself for doing what he felt was right, but did he really need to do it with my husband? Never mind. I was okay. I could be a mature person and handle this like the adult I was. He was my husband’s ally, and I could be respectful to him. “It is good to meet someone that my husband holds in high esteem.”

There. I could be respectful. I would be respectful. I even stood to greet him properly. It was only polite, after all.

“Hell—oh, holy crap, you’re pregnant!” And, just like that, the wizard ruined my attempt. Did he really need to state the obvious? I mean, given that I’d been like this for nine months, I was either definitely pregnant and near my delivery date, or I’d just become severely bloated

Of course, I said none of that. I needed to stay respectful, even if this Mr. Dresden would not be. After all, it would reflect badly on both myself and my husband if I acted otherwise. “Yes, Mr. Dresden, I am, and I have been for about nine months at this point.”

“So that means you must be about to pop, then, huh?” asked the wizard, in what I assumed could only be a rhetorical manner, or at least I treated it like one.

“Harry,” Michael said. “I will need to go pack the rest of my things before we can go.”

“Oh, no rush, Michael,” Mr. Dresden said, but then he looked out the window. The sun still sat at a reasonable height in the sky. The twins and Daniel would be home from school soon. I assumed the reason that the wizard cared about the time was that there was a time based component to the magic he planned on doing, and I also knew that magic would work better after sundown. This meant that whatever was going on, Mr. Dresden likely was the center of it, not Michael. “We’ve got some time before we should go.”

That idea sent a jolt of worry down into my stomach. While I knew my husband could take care of himself, that didn’t mean that I didn’t worry about him. Seemingly sensing my worry, Michael came over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, giving me a warm hug. He then made his way upstairs to pack his things, leaving me alone in the kitchen with the wizard.

I guess that meant that my husband’s trust was real. I made my way over to the counter, and I pulled out a mug and some tea bags. While I would prefer loose leaf tea, that tended to be more expensive than the bagged kind, and we weren’t exactly flush with funds. Choosing not to engage the wizard, I took the kettle just as it was about to whistle, and I poured the hot water into my tea mug, preparing my own hot tea. I set the kettle aside. I’d make hot chocolate for the twins when they got home.

“So, uh… Charity,” said the wizard, clearly wanting to break the silence that had come over the room while I made my tea. I just wanted to leave him alone and not deal with him, was that too much to ask? I looked toward him, and he continued, “I just wanted to ask. How did you and Michael end up together?”

I shook my head with a smile. That was a good memory to talk about, sure, even if it was surrounded by bad.

“Michael saved me from being an evil wizard’s sacrifice to a dragon for power. He could probably tell you more about it than I could. The day was mostly a blur to me.” I looked directly at his face, avoiding his eyes. I had no desire to see what his soul was like, and I knew he had no desire to see mine. “Now what about you, Mister Dresden? How did _you_ meet my husband?”

“You mean he didn’t tell you?” asked the wizard. “He saved my life. I can’t really talk about what he saved me from, but your husband saved not only my life but the life of my client. Neither of us would have survived if Michael hadn’t been there.”

“Your client?” I asked. What was the wizard talking about? I hadn’t heard of any wizards doing anything like that before, taking clients, I mean. However, that didn’t mean that there weren’t other uses for magic.

“Ah, he must not have told you that either,” Mr. Dresden said. “I’m working on my private investigation license, and I’m currently apprenticed to Nick Angel at Ragged Angel Investigations. Michael helped me out of a jam, and I’d do the same for him.”

“But this… is your quest. Your case,” I said, turning my attention to the reason that the wizard was even here in the first place. “It isn’t Michael’s. He feels he needs to help you, but I worry about him.”

“I’ll make sure he gets home safely,” Mr. Dresden said, moving to take a seat in one of the chairs, cutting off one of his main advantages in the room, his height. It was easier to look at him while he sat. “He’ll be back before you know it.”

“He’d better,” I said, acknowledging his height change. “He has a new child on the way that he’ll be wanting to say hello to.”

Dresden nodded, and it looked as if he wanted to say something more, but I turned my attention to my tea at the moment. I didn’t know how responsible the man was with his magic, but he still walked a dangerous and potentially dark path. I trusted my husband, and I had faith that he would be able to stand against the darkness. My husband would be able to keep this Harry Dresden on the straight and narrow. That said, I still didn’t have to like it.

I sipped my tea some, and then I turned my attention toward the door. I clearly could hear the giggling outside combined with some young masculine laughter. My children had arrived home from school. I pulled out three more mugs. I’d have to get their grandmother to pick Alicia and Matthew up from daycare in a bit, but right now, I had hot cocoa to make for my three eldest.

When the door opened, revealing the twins and Daniel, the three of them were in high spirits. I wasn’t sure what they were laughing about, but they definitely were laughing. Faith and Molly had adjusted their hairstyles to be similar once more, and I was starting to think that I should just make them both have the same hairstyle in the morning. They came up to me quickly, and I handed each of them a mug, gesturing for them to sit at the table.

Daniel was the first to notice the stranger at the table with them. “Hello, I’m Danny, and these are my sisters Faith and Molly. They’re twins, and it’s really hard to tell which is which, but Faith likes to wear blue, and Molly likes green.”

I smiled, and I made my way over. I noticed that Faith was really looking the man over with a contemplative look on her face. Daniel didn’t seem to notice, but Molly seemed to pay attention to Faith. “Faith, Molly, Daniel, this is your father’s friend. His name is—”

Faith’s eyes widened a lot as she cut me off, exclaiming, “Holy fuck, it’s Harry Dresden! Fuck me sideways.”

… What? When had my daughter learned that language? Dresden could wait. I needed to deal with my daughter.

“Faith!” I said sharply.

“… Did I say that out loud?” Faith asked in a very small voice. Good. She was already feeling ashamed for what she said. I didn’t even know why she said it, but I had some suspicions.

I’d deal with my daughter’s potty mouth, but I needed to keep an eye on her to see if there was any indication as to why she reacted the way she did.

I’d just have to pay attention to her more, and then I’d find out where she got that word from. It probably was just something she heard at school.

Which meant one more thing I dreaded: another parent-teacher conference.

  



	5. Chapter Five

After putting the youngest of my children to bed and saying goodbye to Sanya, I breathed out a sigh. It had been a trying but safe week that followed the few days of crushing fear. Fear for my family, fear for my husband, and fear for the world had all warred for my attention during the previous weekend. Thankfully things had turned out mostly okay, but given the injuries sustained by my husband and his _friend_ and given that a good man had died, I couldn’t exactly call it a win. Especially when two of my daughters had ended up in the hospital through no act of supernatural effect. It’s easy to forget, when exposed to the horrors that true evil can place before you, that mundane things can harm. At least Molly only walked away with a broken arm, but Faith… I worried for my daughter.

She’d only just come home from the hospital the previous day, and today she seemed all right. I was half-tempted to try and force her to stay in a wheelchair until the doctors cleared her, but she was _walking_ , laughing. The doctors had cleared her to come home, and she didn’t have a physical therapy appointment until later in the week. Faith definitely seemed all right at the barbecue, but I knew better. She couldn’t hide the slight wince in her step as she moved, nor could she hide from me the microexpressions of pain that she displayed as she tried to smile through it. My baby was still hurt, and she would need time to recover, just like her sister.

Then I’d be able to talk with them about the abilities that they seemed to be developing. I’m sure that neither Molly nor Faith expected me to notice that they weren’t looking people in the eyes anymore. In fact, they were actively avoiding locking gazes with anyone at the party. When Molly was teasing Sanya, she was looking at his nose and his forehead, not his eyes. When Faith was playing with Amanda, she did something similar. Given how my daughters had been prior to that, this was an odd behavior to be certain. I needed to figure out how to broach the subject with them. If I was right, they needed to give it up. That was the best option for them. If they gave up their abilities, they could live normal lives, apart from all the problems that they would bring. I didn’t want them to end up worse off than I had been. The three Swords were accounted for. I didn’t know if the Knights would be dispatched to save the daughter or daughters of one of the Knights, and I really didn’t want to have to find out.

I sipped the tea I’d poured for myself in the kitchen. I’d finish cleaning up after I figured out just what I would say. I couldn’t tell the girls about my past. It was done, over with, and I didn’t want to taint their image of me or their grandparents. I also didn’t want Michael to know just how deep the hell he saved me from went, even if I’m sure he suspected. My husband is not an unobservant man. I sighed as Michael walked into the kitchen, flanked by the twins.

“What’s wrong, Mom?” Faith asked, taking a position at the sink to start washing dishes. I noted that she looked a little nervous, an expression that was echoed on her twin’s face. She didn’t know that I suspected, did she? What I suspected…

I looked to my husband who simply stood there, stoically, observing Faith and Molly as they started the dishes together. Molly made use of her unbroken arm to dry dishes that Faith placed near her, and I smiled, but the two of them still looked nervous.

“It’s been a long week, Faith. I’m glad to have you home,” I said, truthfully. I didn’t want to bring up my suspicions in front of Michael. If I was wrong, it would be embarrassing to them, and if I was right, it might be frightening to them. Still, if Faith was nervous because she—

“I almost picked up a Blackened Denarius today, Mama…” Faith said, almost too quiet to be heard, and my heart leaped into my throat. I didn’t know what to say, how to respond to that. That one of those coins could get so close to my baby… I’d tear their wings out feather by feather if they came close to harming them. “I _didn’t_ though. The man, Nicodemus, he threw out the coin onto our lawn. It landed near Harry, and I couldn’t let him get it. So I picked him up. But I almost picked up the coin. I could have picked up the coin...”

“But you didn’t,” I said, Molly’s voice joining my own. Molly wrapped her good arm around her sister’s back, and I shook my head. “So, what happened to the coin itself? It’s not—”

“Dealt with, for now,” Michael said solemnly. That was enough for me. If Michael said that the coin was dealt with, that meant that it wasn’t going to be a problem for now. If it became a problem later, we’d deal with it then. “But that isn’t what you were going to be talking to your mother about, Faith.”

“Yeah, but…” Faith leaned backward into Molly’s embrace, clearly savoring it. I wondered what made Faith feel telling me about the coin was a good opening statement. If she thought that was a good warm-up, especially with mentioning how close my _youngest son_ came to having a Fallen in his head, then I shuddered to think what she was supposed to come in and say.

“Fai, we should tell her.” Molly, the on again, off again, voice of reason. Molly was more rebellious than Faith, but she was able to play to Faith’s sense of responsibility in a way that consistently made me proud. Still, I knew she probably did some things that I would prefer she didn’t. Such things probably would have ended with more than just a broken arm, most of the time. “You told Daddy already.”

My eyes shifted to Michael. If he knew, and he wanted them to tell me, then it was something personal to them that he felt I should know, but he didn’t feel it was enough that he would tell me himself.

“I didn’t exactly tell him,” Faith said, running her left hand through her hair. My daughter turned to me, looking me straight on, but she didn’t look me in the eye. I chose not to look her in the eye myself, focusing on her lips and nose. I might have let my talent wither away years ago, but I still knew the proper places to look at someone’s face if I didn’t want to trigger what Faith clearly was afraid of triggering. “Mama—Mom, Molly and I….”

“You two have magic,” I said, trying not to color the word with as much disdain as I felt for it. It wasn’t their fault that they had it. It was mine. The power came from me, and they’d simply inherited it. Now, I needed to convince them to give it up. I wasn’t sure how I could do that. One of my husband’s best friends was an example of how to use magic in a good way. With him there, how could I convince them that it was better for them to have a normal life? To not let themselves be tainted by their power? “Sometime within the last week or two, the two of you developed it somehow.”

“Um… yes, actually,” Molly said, looking at the floor. “We just started doing—”

“—a little bit of magic,” said Faith, finishing her sister’s sentence. She still looked at me. “We want to learn how to do more.”

“No,” I said, and I looked to Michael. I hoped he would back me up on this. “The two of you shouldn’t. You should give it up.”

Michael pursed his lips, but he didn’t speak. I wasn’t sure if that was because he supported my argument or not, but I needed to expand on it.

“I want the two of you safe, to have a normal life,” I said. They needed to understand. I didn’t want to outright forbid them from learning. I knew how I was at their age. Forbidding it would guarantee that they would try and learn. They reminded me too much of myself that way. The best bet I had would be some sort of reasoning. I wanted them safe. “At least as normal as you can with this family. If you give up your magic, that can be guaranteed.”

“Mama, do you actually believe that?” Faith asked, an unreadable look settling upon her face. “That a normal life was possible for either of us? Mom, Molly and I can barely stand to sleep in separate beds for too long, let alone separate rooms. We both had trouble all last week while I was in the hospital. The best sleep either of us got was when Molly was visiting in the room. Normal was never in the cards for us.”

I grimaced. I didn’t know how much of their attachment to each other was psychological and how much was… something else. I’d seen too much throughout their years of life to deny that there definitely was something special about my girls, especially with how close they were, but I never really wanted to admit that. They weren’t a normal pair of twins, to be certain. I just wasn’t entirely sure why.

“I just want the two of you safe. I really don’t want the two of you learning magic. Maybe if you give it up, the two of you will be able to sleep in separate rooms with ease.”

“Mom, we don’t _want_ to sleep in separate rooms,” my daughters said in unison. “We’re fine with the way things are, and we actually like it. We thought you were okay with it too, but us learning magic is too much?”

Oh. That was… Well, it wasn’t exactly new, but the degree of which they were acting together _was_. Maybe it was an unconscious use of magic related to their twin bond, or maybe it was just their twin bond itself. Michael clearly was as surprised as I was at their actions, even if it was similar to what I’d seen… They had used magic then. That Thursday, they’d used this ability. Usually when they spoke in unison, there were little ticks, little tells, but now it was just them speaking. I couldn’t tell how they were doing it.

“Michael, what do you think?” I asked, turning toward my husband.

“Harry has offered to be their instructor.” Of course he had. Of course, the wizard had offered to teach my children magic. Sometimes I just wanted to throttle that man. I wouldn’t though. Because he was Michael’s friend. I would tolerate him for that reason, and as much as I loathed to admit it, he probably was a good choice to teach the twins. If they were to learn magic, that is.

“We want to learn, Mom,” the twins said again. “We can do a lot of good with our abilities if we learn how to use them responsibly.”

I sighed. “I would really prefer that you give it up.”

“Remember the Parable of the Talents?” Molly asked, and then Faith followed quickly, indicating that they were still acting together. “We want to nurture what the Lord gave us so we can use its fruits to give back.”

A look to Michael saw that I would get no support there. The use of Scripture, plus the fact that they spoke to him first, meant that he probably approved already. Why wouldn’t he? Mr. Dresden was his friend, and he was an amazing wizard. I named my youngest after him, in a fit of… let’s call it whimsy and drugged up sensations, but I can’t say that Harry’s namesake wasn’t a good man. No matter how much I would like to. Dresden had found my daughter when she ran away; saved my own life two years ago, and he had offered to teach my daughters.

I sighed. “Fine. I will need to talk with Mr. Dresden once the two of you have started, but fine. I will support your studies.”

My girls breathed out a sigh of what must have been relief. “Oh, thank you, Mom…”

“You’re welcome, I suppose.” I sighed. I wanted them to give it up, but with Michael’s support… I’d trust my husband, and through him, his friend.

Molly came over and hugged me with one arm. Faith joined her a half-second later, and the two of them seemed to be moving independently of each other again.

“Oh, thank you so much, Mom,” Molly murmured into me.

“Yeah… I’m glad we were able to work this out…” Faith murmured into my other side. I ran a hand through each of my daughters’ hair, and I hugged them close. I loved them dearly, and I would need to support them in this, their time of need. “Even if I haven’t brought up the past life thing yet…”

Wait… What?

I’m sorry, but, past life, _what_?


	6. Chapter Six

“All right, Amanda, it’s time for bed,” I said, patting my seven-year-old daughter on the back. “You have school tomorrow, and I don’t want to hear from your teacher that you fell asleep in class.”

“I don’t fall asleep, Mommy,” Amanda said, yawning.

“Come on, squirt, I’ll walk you up,” my son, Daniel said, standing off the couch and walking toward his sister. I offered him a grateful smile. He really was stepping up into the responsible role, and his dark hair made him the spitting image of his father at that age, from what I remembered of the pictures. “You need to get your teeth brushed and pajamas on. Alicia can help with that if you need it.”

“I don’t need it, Danny. I’m big enough,” Amanda said, and then she turned to me. “Mommy, when will Daddy get home?”

“I don’t know, sweetie,” I said, brushing her hair out of her face with a hand. “I spoke to him while you were at school yesterday, but he didn’t know if he was ready to head home yet.”

“Did he find them?” Amanda asked, and Daniel looked to me. It was obvious which _them_ , my daughter meant. Her eldest sisters, Faith and Molly had been missing for nearly a year now. Well, Michael said he saw them around Halloween, but he hadn’t been able to actually speak with either of them. The situation around then didn’t exactly lend itself to that, and they’d disappeared soon after, dust in the wind.

“I don’t know,” I repeated, hugging my daughter. “I pray he did. I want your sisters home just as much as you do.”

“They shouldn’t have run away,” Daniel said, quietly, but then he came over and lightly placed his hands on Amanda’s shoulders. “I’ll get her to bed, Mom. The others are already there.”

I nodded gratefully. “Thank you, Daniel. I’ll be up in a bit to give everyone their goodnight kiss.”

Daniel smiled wryly. He probably felt that he was too old to get a goodnight kiss from his mother. I begged to differ. Just because he was sixteen now didn’t make him any less my little boy. Age was no barrier to the kiss. Daniel would be getting goodnight kisses from me until he reached the tender age of thirty, if I had my way.

Faith and Molly would too, if they would just come home.

Daniel helped extricate his blonde-haired younger sister from my hug and then he walked her toward the stairs as I stood to clean up the living room. I picked up the pillows that had been strewn about and placed them on the couch. I picked up the rug that Amanda had been sitting on and flipped it over, wincing when I saw the other side. Etched into the rug was a silver pentacle, large enough for a person to sit inside. This was one of two such rugs that we had in the house.

When the twins wanted to watch TV, they would sit inside the pentacles and activate the circles, blocking off their energy from the outside world. Their siblings would then change the channel to whatever they were planning on watching. It wasn’t exactly a foolproof method of preventing damage to our television, but combined with Michael’s handiness at repairs, we hadn’t had to replace the screen yet.

_Of course_ , I thought as I folded up the rug to put it away. _The television hasn’t been exposed to magic since they left._

Left. Ran away. Faith had run away once when she was a child, eight years old. I hadn’t figured out the reason why until a short while after she and her sister told me that they had magic, when she’d mentioned the past life. Faith ran away because of something in her past life. Some knowledge that she remembered from it was something she couldn’t deal with at eight. Maybe that was when all the memories of it came flooding back, and maybe she felt that she shouldn’t have been a part of this family. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Faith ran away after arguing with me about keeping her safe. About her letting me know things so I could do that. So I could help her if she needed it. It frustrated me just to think about it. My daughter shouldn’t have the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she should have trusted me to make a decision to do what was right. She couldn’t, though, and she ran away, dragging her twin sister along with her a short while afterward. Molly wouldn’t let Faith face the world alone, even if Faith seemed determined to.

I sighed. I was doing it again. It had been nearly a year at that point, and I was doing it again. Thoughts of both my daughters dominated my mind, and I barely even noticed when the front door opened.

My husband made his way into the living room, where I was, bag of armor in hand, along with the messenger tube bag that he carried his sword, _Amoracchius,_ in. He had some fresh scrapes and bruises, but nothing especially bad, which I supposed was simply because he hadn’t been traveling with his best friend, the wizard, who had been conspicuously silent since Halloween.

Before then, he had been helping Michael look. Tracking spells that should have found my daughters failed at the wrong moments, and other forms of information tended to pan out into other situations. Even Michael’s correct direction seemed to be on the fritz when asking about Molly and Faith, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Something had changed around Halloween. Michael had been pulled away by his duties, and Dresden had sent a warning to us to stay behind our Threshold that evening. Michael claimed to have seen Faith and Molly around then, but he hadn’t been able to speak with them. There a minute and gone the next, was the description.

“Charity,” Michael said, and I could already hear the apology in his voice so I held up a hand.

“Considering the fact that you came in alone, I can assume that this lead didn’t exactly pan out,” I said, frowning at my husband. It wasn’t exactly his fault that he had been unable to find them, but it still was frustrating.

“No, they weren’t there,” Michael said as he stepped closer to me, and he winced slightly.

“But something was, or someone,” I said, looking to his injuries. “Let me go get the first aid kit, and you can tell me what happened.”

I walked into the kitchen to grab the kit from under the sink and made my way back into the living room where my husband had managed to find a chair to sit in. I pulled out some antiseptic, and I started to get to work. “So, Michael, if you didn’t find our daughters, what exactly did you find there?”

I had to give my husband credit. Most men would flinch at the antiseptic that I was using on him, even if it was one of the ones that didn’t sting quite as much, but he barely moved a muscle. “They weren’t our girls, anyway. When I made it to my destination, I had come across what appeared to be a deal of some sort being performed. There were cages that housed people there.”

I grimaced. That… I didn’t know what exactly my husband had run into. It sounded wrong. I took out the bandages, and started wrapping his wounds. “Cages?”

“Cages, guarded by things that might have once been human wielding machine guns,” Michael said, wincing only slightly when I applied a bandage to his arm.

“Might have once been human?” I asked, frowning.

“They looked like thugs for the most part, but they had _more_ to them,” Michael said. “They wore black clothing with a black turtleneck to cover it up, but I could tell. Some of them had gills, unnatural muscles, and something off about their eyes. They might have been human once, but they definitely weren’t when I saw them.”

“You were wearing your armor, right?” I asked as I looked my husband over for bullet wounds. I might have lined his armor with Kevlar, but the right caliber bullet could still bypass the material.

“Of course I was.” My husband grabbed my free hand with one of his own. “When the shots were fired, the armor performed as expected. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, my cheeks heating a little. “So… the deal?”

“Slavery,” Michael growled out. “Or something like it. They were attempting to trade the people in the cages to what I can only describe as a frog-man. I didn’t catch any of what they had been saying before I attacked, and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”

Frog-man, huh? It sounded vaguely familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place what I remembered about it. It might have been something that Gregor had been delving into all those years ago, but I couldn’t really remember what it was. Frog-man would have to do as a description for now. Whoever my husband had rescued, even if they weren’t my children, they were better off. Nobody deserved slavery, not to humans and definitely not to anything supernatural.

“No, I suppose it wouldn’t matter,” I said, understanding my husband’s point. “If they were being sold into slavery, the deal needed to be stopped. How did you manage to get yourself hurt?”

“The frog being… I think I heard someone call it a Fomor, it was a sorcerer.”

“It used magic?” I asked, wrapping another bandage over a wound. Well, that was a dumb question. There he goes telling me it was a sorcerer, and I reflexively asked the stupid question. “Mortal magic, I mean?”

“Near as I could tell, or it used something close enough to it for it to not matter,” Michael said. “Either way, my faith protected me. Yours did as well.”

I smiled. “So, you freed the people in the cage after that, then?”

Michael nodded. “While none were our daughters, they were _someone’s_. I managed to get them to the nearest police station so they could be returned to their loved ones.”

“My hero,” I said, giving Michael a hug. “I’m finished bundling you up, but you might want to get a shower before going into bed. In which case, I’ll have to redo your bandages.”

“There is something to be said about having my beautiful wife fuss over me,” Michael said, and I couldn’t help but let out a giggle… that turned into a small sob. Michael wrapped his arms around me and I leaned into his shoulder. “I’m sorry that it wasn’t them, Charity. I miss them as well.”

“I just… I’m worried that something might have happened to them… I’ve been worried…” I said.

“I have faith that they’re all right. They’re both very resourceful young women, and if they’re together…”

“Then they’ll be working together…” I sighed. “And they probably are together.”

Michael nodded. “They’ll return home when they’re ready to.”

I snorted. If Michael managed to find them, then he’d make sure they were alright, but he wouldn’t force them to return. I supposed that was the best I could hope for. I wanted my children to know that they could return home when they were ready… That we still wanted them here.

“Okay.” I sighed again, extracting myself from the hug. “Go on up, I just have a little bit more cleaning to do before I join you.”

“Yes ma’am,” Michael said with a smile, and he made his way upstairs.

It really didn’t take me all that long to finish up the cleaning in the living room. I placed Michael’s armor to the side along with the case for his sword, laying them where I’d be able to put them up properly in the morning. I fluffed the pillows on the couch, and I made sure that Michael didn’t bleed on the upholstery of the chair he’d sat on. Verifying the lack of blood, I packed up the first aid kit.

As I brought the kit to the kitchen to place it back under the sink, the phone began to ring. I let it ring twice as I put the first aid kit away, and I picked it up on the third ring. I wasn’t exactly sure who could be calling at this time of night, but I didn’t want to let it reach the answering machine.

“Hello?”

My heart moved from my chest to the bottom of my throat as I heard a familiar voice on the other side of the phone say, “Mom?”

Swallowing, I closed my eyes, thinking about the way she’d said it on the other line. Fifty-fifty shot. “Molly?”

I heard a short bit of honest laughter come from the other side of the line. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Doesn’t matter, now.” Molly sounded calm. “I just thought you should know that we’re coming back to Chicago. Not home… but we’ll be closer.”

“I want to see you. Everyone does. The both of you,” I said.

“We’re a bit different, Mom, and I can’t promise it will be right away. But we’ll try.”

I wanted to order her to come home. I wanted to find her wherever she was and clutch both her and her sister close and not let them leave my sight again, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t try and force this, not when she reached out to me. Not when my daughter opened lines of communication.

“How can I contact you?”

“I’ll call you back to let you know, Mom. We’ve missed you,” Molly said, speaking for her sister as well as herself.

“I’ve missed you so much…”

“We’ve got to go, Mom. I’ll call back, I promise.”

“No, wait! I want to…” Dialtone. My daughters were alive, and they were coming back to Chicago. Where had they gone? What did they do?

They were coming back. That’s what mattered. When they did, and when we were able to meet again, I’d show them why they should come home. Why they should stay home.

I loved my children. Making sure that they were safe was my number one priority. Which is why they needed to come home. I just wanted them home.

  



End file.
